Sports

Analysis: Optimism fades with Broncos loss

Broncos middle linebacker Joe Mays, left, slips as he chases down the Oakland Raiders' Darren McFadden during the second quarter Monday night. Denver showed a variety of defensive sets — and left lots of room for improvement.
(AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post )

And while there is plenty of road for the Broncos to travel, plenty of places to go, plenty of things to do, any thought of the local franchise being able to fix all that needed fixing one offseason removed from a 4-12 finish was swept away like the evening storm.

After the Broncos expressed such high hopes throughout August, the season opener Monday night proved to be a startling reminder of the work that remains to get through September, let alone beyond.

The team's run game wasn't nearly as powerful as advertised, the offense not nearly as sharp as it was in the preseason and Elvis Dumervil suffered a shoulder injury. There were times before Oakland's penalty festival in the third quarter that the Raiders appeared to be the composed, disciplined team poised to go places in the division race.

What went right. The list is fairly short, but at times the Broncos' defense showed some teeth. In the first regular-season outing for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's group, veteran safety Brian Dawkins supplied some pop and rookie Von Miller forced a fumble to close out the first defensive possession.

The Broncos used a variety of personnel groupings in the game, though some were forced by a left shoulder injury Dumervil suffered in the Raiders' second possession.

But the Broncos showed a base 4-3 look; a 4-3 set with three cornerbacks and one safety; a three-lineman, three-linebacker nickel (five defensive backs); and a four-linemen, two-linebacker nickel package.

The result was Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell didn't push the ball down the field much in the first three quarters as the Broncos kept most plays in the early going in front of them before Oakland eventually wore down the Broncos' defensive front.

What went wrong. The Broncos were decidedly undisciplined at times, with eight penalties in the first half, an opening-half total that didn't even include two holding penalties — on Chris Kuper and Ryan Clady — that were flagged on the same play in the second quarter before being declined by the Raiders.

Two personal fouls were called on the Broncos in the second quarter — on Lance Ball and Robert Ayers.

On the flip side to all of the looks they showed, the Broncos also took some of their impact players off the field at key times, with Von Miller sitting out some snaps for Mario Haggan on defense and Brandon Lloyd giving way to Matthew Willis on an occasional snap on offense, including a third-down play or two.

A Broncos punt was also blocked and their newly minted power run game went for all of 17 yards — on 2.1 yards per carry — in the first half, just 38 yards by the end of the game.

Up next. The Raiders, Bengals and Titans were supposed to offer the Broncos the chance to construct some early-season success before a bevy of road games fill the middle portion of the schedule.

The Raiders didn't cooperate, and the Bengals will come in having had a comeback victory over the Browns on Sunday. Rookie Andy Dalton, who suffered a right forearm injury on the last play of the first half and did not return against the Browns, is on track to start against the Broncos.

The Bengals' offense was a run-heavy affair against the Browns, with Cedric Benson rushing for 121 of the team's 139 yards.

Cincinnati's rookie wide receiver A.J. Green, who was the No. 4 pick of the draft this past April, had one catch against the Browns, that one going for a 41-yard touchdown.

Rockies are on pace to lose 93 games this seasonThe Rockies lost three of four in St. Louis and are on pace to lose 93 games as they come home for a three-game series with Seattle before going back on the road again to face Washington.